Yes, Brandon, I believe you could safely ingest that now, though I’m not sure where you picked it up. Trunk of someone’s car in Iowa? Little old lady in a farmhouse? Bought on Amazon?

The bottom line takeaway from last night?

1. Trump is not going away. He has built up a lot of momentum now heading into South Carolina and the rest of the country,
2. Kasich will create a temporary headache for the GOP establishment as the party continues to try to launch a legitimate Trump alternative,
3. Sanders has very real, though predicted, momentum out of New Hampshire,
4. Clinton faces a very serious campaign now, and, depending on how she proceeds, could even be in very real trouble which is why perhaps, as Dick Morris claims here, she is calling in the B Team.

“A trap is only a trap if you don’t know about it. If you know about it, it’s a challenge.” — China Miéville, King Rat

7th CD candidate Baker should resign his council seat says Top Adams County Republican — ICYMI, 7th Congressional District Candidate, and current Westminster City Councilman Bruce Baker was very publicly chastised Monday night by Maria del Carmen Guzman Weese, the Republican vice chair of the 7th CD, who is a former supporter of Baker’s. Weese called Baker out at the city council meeting for his comments about halting immigration to the country.

Clean Power Plan stalls — The SCOTUS stayed the implementation of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan yesterday, pending disposition of the applicants petitions for review in the US Court of Appeals … A very surprising move by the US Supreme Court which normally does not block federal regulations — particularly when petitioner’s requests have already been denied by the D.C. Circuit Court. You can find case documents here.

Smallwood joins three other Republican candidates in that race (due to district registration numbers, whoever wins the Republican nomination will very likely be the next senator): Jess Loban, Benjamin Lyng, and Meghann Silverthorn.

Finance report: Silverthorn has raised a total of $1,668.03 with $1,255.09 cash on hand. Loban has raised a total of $2,791.05 with an additional $1,000 loan and $600 in non-monetary contributions. He has $513.74 cash on hand. Smallwood and Lyng have not yet been required to file reports due to their recent entry dates into the race.

Finance report: To date, Sandgren has raised $1,595.00 and has $1,445.48 cash on hand. Salazar has raised $9,053.00 with a carry-over balance of $2,947.70 and has $7,593.12 cash on hand.

There was a parade yesterday … (over 1 million strong, and with at least one awesome hat in attendance — Sen. Kent Lambert’s) —

Followed by a bomb threat — Someone called in a bomb threat to the Capitol around 4:15 pm yesterday, closing the building down for several hours while Colorado State Patrol scoured the building for anything suspicious. CSP gave the all clear just after 7:00 pm with business as usual at the Capitol today.

DENVER – Happy New Hampshire Primary Tuesday, everyone! (Is there something else happening today?) Some folks in the Granite State have already voted, including in communities Dixville Notch (nine voters — all employees of the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel), Harts Location and Millsfield. According to New Hampshire statute, towns with less than 100 voters are allowed to hold their primaries at midnight, and that is just what they did. Full stories here and here.

The Dem (hyperlinked for you this morning because I can tell you are all set to open up your pocketbooks and donate) results:

Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, wondered about voter ID law in these communities:
So how about the latest polling in New Hampshire? HuffPost Pollster, aggregating all of the most recent polls shows Donald Trump in the lead of the GOP pack with 31.0%, followed by Marco Rubio with 14.7%, John Kasich with 14.1%, Ted Cruz with 11.9% and Jeb Bush with 10.2%.

For the Democratic candidates: Bernie Sanders with 54.8% and Hillary Clinton with 40.7%.

“It is hard work and great art to make life not so serious.”
― John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire

Back-up plans for Fields and Ryden? — In a testament to how close this particular race could end up being, both Democratic candidates for Senate District 29, Rep. Rhonda Fields and Rep. Su Ryden, have requested and received the green light from the secretary of state’s office to begin circulating petitions for the 2016 Democratic primary ballot. There are no Republican candidates in the race for the heavily Democrat-registered district. As of the Jan. 15 filing, Fields has $40,365.84 cash on hand with $55,724.35 total raised. Ryden has $23,971,02 cash on hand with $30,801.54 total raised.

Pat Stryker in it this year for $1.25 million — Not slipping out of character, Colorado billionaire heiress Pay Stryker is in it big this election year according to a report by the Fort Collins Coloradoan yesterday. Stryker has reportedly donated $1.25 million to the Democratic Party within the last year which places her in the middle of the pack nationally among super PAC top donors.

Opposite Day for Kindergarten! — Yesterday was opposite day at the Capitol with Republican Rep. Jim Wilson’s full-day kindergarten bill, HB-1022, passing in the Democrat-controlled House Education Committee on a 7-3 vote, whileDemocrat Sen. Andy Kerr’s similar proposal (though one referring the measure to the voters and tied to a TABOR lift), SB-23, was killed by the Republican-controlled Senate State Affairs committee. Whether there is funding or stomach in the Senate available for Rep. Wilson’s bill, we have yet to see. Though, in our experience, the education lobby force is strong with Jedi Wilson.

Sen. Takis commemorated — The life and service of Sen. Stephanie Takis was commemorated yesterday by Sens. Morgan Carroll and Mary Hodge with Senate Joint Memorial 16-003. Takis was born in Salt Lake City, UT, and became a long-time congressional staffer after graduating from the University of Utah. She served 5 different Democratic members of Congress, a Senate committee and then the Congressional Affairs Office of the United States Department of Commerce over a period of 15 years. She later moved to Aurora, Colorado, where she was very involved in her community including serving in positions on the Aurora Election Commission, Aurora Citizens Advisory Budget Committee, Adams County Community Services Committee and the Spirit of Aurora Board over the course of several years. Takis was elected to the Aurora City Council in 1989 and then to the House in 1996. She was elected to Senate District 25 in 2000. Takis died at the age of 69 on Aug. 5, 2014, at her Aurora home. Lynn Bartels wrote a great piece about Takis that you can read here.

Big Bennet fundraiser next week — U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet will be back in Colorado on Feb. 18 for a private, high-brow fundraiser at an area home. The fundraiser’s donation amounts required to attend are reportedly between $500 and $5,000. Sources tell us a few of the names on the host committee includeMike Stratton, Al Yates and Cole Finegan.

All three Democratic candidates for Senate District 31 will participate in a forum. Additionally, CD challenger Chuck Norris — no not that Chuck Norris — will make his case for running against Congresswoman Diana DeGette. Because DeGette is in D.C., her husband, Lino Lipinsky, will fill in for her.

Prayers for Mesa County Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Geer (I know him personally), who was shot multiple times last night by a 17-year-old suspect, and is in critical condition. A report here by Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Staff.

Panthers win. At least that was the sentiment of the majority of the Republican presidential candidates in Saturday night’s ABC debate hosted at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. The pandering burners were turned up on high with at least one candidate, Ted Cruz, admitting so when asked who he would pick to win Super […]